Press



Oct. 29, 1935. H. THORNE 2,0l8,932

PRESS Filed Dec. 15, 1933 Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC z,os.9sz mss Harry Thoma, Rockford, lll.

Application December 15, 1933, serial No. '102,509

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a press and has particular reference to an article adapted to function as a food press and squeezer and as a colander tor extruding material, such as articles of food.

An object of the invention is to provide a press of the type having a chamber and a presser foot therein, wherein the chamber has an open end for the selective recepti'on of any ot a plurality oi grids shaped and formed to perform specifically difierent operations upon the material within the chamber.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a press having an open end ohamber adapted to be closed by any of a plurality of grids and having `indexing means for urging material through and against the grid.

I have also aimed to provide a press wherein the presser foot is carried on a screw for' movement toward and away from the grid, and an indexing means serves to advance the foot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a press of the character described having means for holding the body of the press, and handle means thereabove adapted to be reciprocated to .advance the presser foot. I

A still further object of the invention is to provide a press having a chamber provided with an end open through substantially the entire crosssection of the chamber and having means for supporting any of a plurality oi' different grids across the end of the chamber, whereby the press may be caused to perform a number of speciflcally different Operations.

Another object oi' the invention is to provide a press having a. body and a cover hinged to the body, the body and cover having' a. chamber for the reception oi' the presser foot adapted to urge material against or through a grid positioned in the open end of the chamber, a screw tor moving the presser foot, a handle for holding the body and a handle adapted to advance the screw through reciprocation of the handle.

I have also aimed to provide a press having a novel form of grid, and novel means for supporting the grid in its operative position.

Other objects and attendant advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through the press;

Fig. 2 is a, section on the line 2-2 oi Figure 1 showing a difierent form of grid;

Fig. 3 is a top view oi' the press;

Flg; 4 is a vertical section through the lower end oi' the body and through a modified form of presser foot and grid, and

I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top view of the grid shown in Fig. 4.

The invention contemplates a press and co1an-, 5 der of generally improved form having an improved type of grid and improved means for selectively supporting any or a number oi different grids in the-press adapted to carry out different types of cperations. plates improved 'means for carrying the presser foot and tor urging the same toward the grid, the press having a handle for holding the body of the press and a second handle in such relation to the first and associated with the presser foot in such 15 the numeral 'I which is preferably, though not '20' necessarily, cylindrical in cross-section, the diameter of the same being reduced near its lower open end to provide a shoulder, such as shown at 8, for the reception of, the grids presently to be described. The lower end 9 of the body portion may be cylindrical in shape and carry a plurality of rlbs H for the purpose of receiving the cylindrical sides |2 of a screen l3, the screen being supported on the body through a bayonet connection. The body 'I carries an ear o at one side to which a cover portion Il is pivotally attached through a hinge pin IS. A handle portion IS is attached to the side of the body 'I opposite the ear o and cooperates with a handle portion ll attached to the cover portion |4 to form a handle for the press. A latch pawl l8 is pivotally supported in an opening !9 of the handle portion I 6 on a pin 2! and projects upward through an opening 22 in the handle portion ll when the cover portion occupies its closed position, the pawl s being adapted to latch over the handle portion ll, as shown at 23. tosecure the two handle portions together. A spring 24 is positioned in the opening |9 by means oi'a screw 25 to actuate the pawl I8. The top of the body 7 .is provided with an annular flange 26 receiving the lower edge 21 of the top portion ll, which efrectively prevents the escape of fluid along the junction between the cover and the body during the pressing Operations. The central portions oi' the body 'I and the cover Il form, when closed, a chamber designated generally by the numeral 28 within which the material under` treatment is placed. A boss 29 is formed on theupper side of the cover portion fl sub- 55 The invention also contem 10 stantiaily on the vertical center line of the chamber 28 and is provided with internal threads, as shown at Bi.

A screw, designated generally by the numeral 32, is carried in the boss 29 and has threads 33 complementary to the threads 31, whereby upon rotation of the screw 32 the screw will be moved in either direction. The screw 32 is provided with a longitudinal bore 34 which is preferably of greater diameter at its lower end than at its upper end for a purpose which will presently appear, and a rod 35 is positioned within the bore 34, the rod being of substantially the same diameter as the upper end of the bore 34 so as to have a reasonably close fit in the upper end of the screw. A presser foot designated generally by the numeral 36 is threaded onto the lower end of the rod 35, as shown at 31, a washer 38 being interposed between the presser root and the lower end of the screw 32 so as to permit relative movement between the screw and the presser foot. The upper end of the rod 35 carries a bushing 39 which is held in position against the upper end of the screw 32 by the head 4| of the rod 35, the bushing being rotatable with respect to the screw and also with respect to the rod. The bushing 39 is slotted, as shown at 42, to receive one end of a bell crank lever 43 which is secured therein by means of a pin 44 for rotation between the solid line position shown in Figure 1 and the dotted line position shown therein. Index slots 45, in this case four in number, though not necessarily so limited, are formed in the upper end of the screw 32 and are of such length, width and depth as to receive the elbow of the bell crank lever 43 in the manner shown in Figure 1. Thus, with the handle 43 in the position shown in Figure 1, the screw 32 may be indexed in either direction by movement of .the handle 43 such as to rotate the bushing 39.

The handle 43 may then be rotated to the dotted line position and repositioned in the next succeeding index slot 45 so as to give the screw an additional quarter turn. In this way, the screw 32 may be indexed or inched downward by repeated operation of the handle 43.

The presser foot 36 is of such diameter as to be closely received within the chamber 28 yet be free for vertical movement. In order to give the presser foot a floating support, the bore 34 of the screw 32 is tapered inwardly from bottom to top, as previously described, so that the rod 35 may have a certain amount of lateral movement and permit the presser foot to adjust its lateral position as required.

Two different types of grids and presser feet are contemplated by the present invention operating on somewhat different principles, each of which types may be represented by a number of different specific modiflcations. One type oi' grid is adapted to retain the soiids on the grid and cause the liquid to pass through the grid. This is the type commonly used for pressing oranges, lemons, and the like. The second form ol' grid` is that adapted to pass the solid and convert the same into a diil'erent physical form, bringing about substantially the result of a colander. The first type is illustrated in Figure 1 and the second type in Figs. 2, 4 and 5.

Referring to Figura 1, the presser foot has a general conical configuration on its Inner surface, the surface also being provided with circular recesses 45. The interior shape o! the presser foot is complementary to the outer shape of a grid 46 which is positioned within the chamber 28. The grid 48 is also pyramidal in shape and has outerconflgurations 41 adapted to be received in the recesses 45 of the presser foot when the latter is brought to its advanced position. This pyramidal shape of the grid lends strength 5 to the same since the edges of the pyramid are confined against the walls oi the chamber 28. In order to completely drain the flulds from the chamber 28, particularly along the lower edges of the grid, the edge of the grid is given the shape o shown in Fig. 2, that is, it is provided with flat sides, such as shown at 48, which bridge across the shoulder 8 to provide small openings through which the .fluid may pass. The grid 46 is also provided with a plurality of openings 45 tor the 15 passage of fluids. It will be' noted that because of the annular ribs or convolutions on the grid and the position of the openings 43, the 'tendency for the fruit, such as the orange, to stop up the openings and thus prevent the passage of 20 juice is materially decreased. This results from the fact that the solid portion of. the fruit tends to press against the annular ribs and leave a small vacant space in the valleys tor the colleci tion of the juice so that it may more readlly pass through the openings. In Figura 1, the screen |3 serves to retain the fine particles of pulp which may normally pass through the openings 49 of the grid.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, I have shown a grid oi' the type commonly known as a ricer having a plurality oi' small circular openings through which vegetables or other materials may be passed for the purpose oi' comminuting the same. This type of grid may be used in the body for the purpose of mashing potatoes or otherwise cutting up vegetables, such as beans, peas, and the like to form puree.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a modified form of presser foot 5| wherein the lower surface of the foot is curved, as shown at 52, complementary to the upper curved surface of a grid, designated generally by the numeral 53. This grid is made in the form of a lattice work having sharpupper edges, as shown in Fig. 5, and has spaced parallel bars 54 intersected by spaced parallel bars 55 at right angles thereto, the grid being curved, as shown in Fig. 4. This grid and presser foot converts the press to a dicer or mechanisn for cut--` ting materials into 'shapes of rectangular crosssection, as is required in the dicing of vegetables.

It will be noted that the Operations required in the use of grids shown in Figs. 2 and 4-require a considerable amount of pressure on the presser foot in order to urge the material through the grid. One of the features of this invention is the !act that through the convenient manipulation of the handle 43 such a large amount of pressure can be generated on the material inthe chamber of the press so as to urge it through the grid. Furthermore, this pressure may be developed without e'xcessive eflort on the part oi' the operator. Thisis in contra-distinction to the ricers now commonly used wherein it is im- 'possible, in many instances, to' develop suflicient ing relatively great pressures without being bent 74 aoaesa or distorted out of shape and yet may be made by the usual punch press methods.

` While I have thus described and illustrated a specific embodiment of the invention, I am aware that it may be embodied in a number of different physical forms without materially departing from the spirit of the invention and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims, in which- I claim: e

1. An article of the character described comprising a body having a chamber open at one end and a laterally disposed handle, a grid across the open end of the chamber, a screw supported opposite said grid, a presser foot carried by the screw for movement toward and away from the grid upon rotative movement between the screw and the support, indexing mechanism for imparting intermittent rotation between the screw and its support including a handle positioned for reciprocation through a small amplitude above said first mentioned handle and in a plane transverse to the axis of the screw :for urging the presser foot toward the grid to express material through the grid. s

2. An article of the character described comprising a body having a laterally extending han- .dle and a chamber open at its ends, the chamber having a shoulder adjacent to one of said ends, a grid shaped for reception within the chamber on said shoulder, a presser foot within the chamber substantially spanning the same and movable toward the grid to compress the material in the chamber, a screw movable to urge the presser foot toward the grid, means on said body overhanging the opposite end of said chamber !or carrying said screw, said means being pivoted to said body for movement to can'y said presser foot out of said chamber, means for latching said last mentioned means to the body, and manually operable indexing means for advancing the screw.

3. An article of the character described comprising a body having a chamber provided with open ends, a grid securedacross one of said ends, a cover for said chamber pivotally supported on said body for movement between an open position for charging the chamber and a closed position closing the other end of the chamber, said cover having a recess forming a continuation ot the chamber, a presser foot within the chamber, and a screw carried in said cover tor manual rotation to move the presser foot between a position in said recess whereby the cover may be swung to open position, and positions applying pressure to the material in said chamber to urge the material against the grid.

4. An article of the character described comprisirg a body having a iaterally disposed handle and a chamber provided with open ends, a grid secured across one of said ends, a cover tor said chamber pivotally supported on said body for movement between an open position for charging the chamber, and a closed position closing the other end of the chamber, said cover having a recess forming a continuation of the chamber, means for securing the cover in the closed posltion, a presser root carried on the cover within the chamber and means on the exterior o! the cover for moving the presser root between a position in said recess whereby the cover may be swung to open position, and positions applying pressure to the material in said chamber, said means including a laterally disposed handle movable through a small arc laterally of the body and above said 5 first mentioned handle to advance the pressure foot toward the grid.

5. A fruit squeezer comprising a body having a chamber open at one end, the chamber having a shoulder adjacent to the open end, a conical grid shaped for reception within the chamber and on said shoulder with the highest point of the grid extending upwardly substantialiy at the center of the chamber, said grid having a. plurality of spaced annuia'r ribs, a presser foot of conical configuration closely fitting the walls of the container !or urging the fruit within the chamber against said grid, said foot having a pluraiity of spaced annular ribs complementary to the ribs on said grid, and a screw for' urging the presser foot toward the grid to compress the fruit therebetween.

6. An article of the character described comprising a body portion having a chamber provided with a grid, a cover portion pivoted 'on the body portion for movement between a position closing one end of the chamber and' an open position, latch means for securing the cover in the closed position, a screw passing through the cover, a presser foot carried on the screw within the chamber of a size to substantially span the container and trap the material therein between the foot and the grid, and indexing mechanism manually operable from outside the cover to urge the presser foot toward the grid.

7. An article of the character described comprising a body portion, a cover portion pivoted thereto for movement between a closed and an open position, the body and cover portions having recesses forming a chamber when the cover occupies the-closed position, means for latching the cover portion in the closed position, a grid in the body portion opposite the cover, and a presser foot in the chamber carried on the cover portion for movement toward and away !rom the grid, the foot substantially spanning the chamber, said presser foot being movable in the chamber to a position within the cover portion and above the body portion for rotation of the cover to the open position.

8. An article of the character described comprising a body portion having a cylindrical opening, a cover portion having a recess forming a continuation of said cylindrical opening and providing therewith a chamber, pivotal means for supporting the cover portion on the body portion tor movement between an open and a closed position, a grid in the body portion opposite said cover portion, a presserioot in the chamber of a size to substantially span the same and retractible into said recess, a screw supported in the cover porgo tion and carrying said presser foot for movement toward and away from the grid to express therethrough material placed inthe chamber, and indexing means between the cover portion and 'the screw for advancing the presser foot toward the 05 grid, the indexing means including a handle reciprocable through a small amplitude to advanoe the screw.

'HARRY THORNE. 

